You're too late
by Noraque
Summary: Ziva's ambushed at a hospital by assassins. Will the team find out what's going on in time to save her? Yeah I know, not my best review but please read and review
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This was an idea that just wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote it down. It occurred to me after I remembered a particular scene from the 2006 remake of 'The Omen'. Anyone who's seen the movie will know what scene I'm talking about. Yeah- **_**really**_** creepy scene. And this is what it inspired.**

"How many times must I tell you two?" Ziva said in exasperation. "I am _fine_!"

"You're sitting in a hospital bed with a bullet in your shoulder, Zee." Tony pointed out. "I'd hardly call that 'fine'."

"It would not have happened if you had been a little quicker on your entry into the warehouse, Tony! In any case I do not need to be here! I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself!"

"No one doubts that you are, Ziver." Gibbs replied. "But right now, the only one who's going to be taking care of you are the hospital staff, whether you like it or not. You've got a bullet wound and you've lost a notable amount of blood. Until you get the all clear, you're staying right here."

Ziva shot Gibbs a frustrated look. She honestly felt they were making much too big a deal of this, and it was not as bad as they made it out to be. The team had gotten information that a local warehouse was being used to smuggle weapons belonging to the Navy to local drug gangs and had gone out to stop it.

What they hadn't counted on was the fact that the transaction would be happening the moment they got there and in the resulting gunfight Ziva had taken a round to the shoulder as she'd taken down one of the arms dealers. Even though she had claimed she was fine, she had promptly passed out at the scene from blood loss and had woken up to find herself in a hospital bed with a bandaged shoulder and an IV line. Needless to say, her mood did not improve.

"But I do not understand why I must remain here while you two and McGee continue to track down the remaining members of the arms dealing group."

"Because I need everyone at their best for when we actually do find them." Gibbs replied immediately. "And Mossad trained or not, you're not going to be much use with a busted shoulder. We'll check back on you in a little bit. In the meantime Ziva, try to get some rest; you're far too uptight and wired than a person should be in your state. We'll be back soon."

As the team leader walked out, Tony gave a little smile and wink towards her. "Don't try to miss me so much, sweet cheeks."

Ziva shot him a glare as he followed Gibbs, then allowed herself a small smile as she heard the satisfying sound of Gibbs head slapping Tony just before the door closed. In truth, she had long come to terms with Tony's childish antics and while they could annoy the hell out of her some days she found she enjoyed the banter that occurred between them. Sometimes she found herself provoking him just to start up such banters- and beat him at them. Of course, she'd never actually _tell_ him that but still…

She leaned back against the pillow and closed her eyes. She originally had thought she had made the wrong decision by choosing to become a fulltime member of NCIS, but now she saw that it had been the best decision of her life. She was surrounded by people who cared about her and who treated her as more than just a tool to be used. She appreciated that and now viewed all of the members of NCIS as her 'real' family; Gibbs, their fearless leader who she viewed as a surrogate father; McGee, whom she loved like a brother and was proud to see had turned from a mere tech expert to a good field agent; Abby, whom she considered a little sister that may not be able to replace her real sister but was as close as she was going to get; Ducky, whom considered a grandfather figure who told her endless stories…

And Tony…

Ziva's own thoughts about the ex-cop were interrupted by the sound of the door opening. Opening her eyes, she saw a young blond woman with her hair tied back in a bun and young man with brown hair, both wearing white lab coats, step into the room. Ziva's eyes narrowed; she didn't recognize these two as the doctor and nurse she had previously seen. A slight feeling of suspicion crept into her stomach.

"Can I help you?" Ziva asked.

The woman gave a small smile as she came up to the side of the bed; Ziva's feeling of uneasiness grew stronger. "As a matter of fact you can. We require your assistance in a very important issue and only you can help us resolve it."

"You see, we would like to repay you for your excellent work." The man continued. "Your excellent determination. And to show you our generosity," he held something up to his face, "we're going to show you your payment firsthand."

Ziva looked up to his hand and caught her breath in her throat; the object in the man's hand an ammunition case- the same ammunition case as those the team had found belonging to an automatic weapon in the warehouse. The same weapons used by the arms dealers…

Ziva immediately and instinctively tried to get up and defend herself, but the combination of the blood loss she'd suffered as well the fact of being attached to an IV significantly slowed her movements. The two assailants quickly grabbed hold of her and forced her down onto the bed.

"Now, now," the woman said in a phony-soothing way as she grabbed hold on the restraints on her side of the bed, "let's not make this any more difficult than it already is." She forced Ziva's hand to the bed side and strapped it down with the restraint, while on the other side the man was doing the same thing to her other hand. "You've already done more than enough for one day; fortunately, after just a couple of minutes," she smiled, "you won't have to worry about overworking yourself ever again."

The two assailants strapped Ziva's feet to the bed as well before stepping back and admiring their handiwork. Even as she forced an angry expression on her face, Ziva couldn't help but feel a wave of fear sweep over her; strapped to the bed she was completely helpless and couldn't move at all. _Oh God… I am only in here for a minor bullet wound and now I cannot even defend myself! Gibbs, Tony- where are you?_

Satisfied that the former Mossad officer would not be getting up again, the man walked over to the door and locked the door, standing with his back against it. While that was going on, the woman reached into her pocket and pulled something out of it. Ziva strained to catch a glimpse, and then froze when she saw what it was; a large syringe filled with an orange liquid…

"Don't expect security to be coming to check up on you- we already took care of them." The woman said as she removed the top from the needle. "As for your colleagues, they already have departed back for NCIS; they won't be helping you either." She flicked the syringe several times, gazing into the orange depths. "And by the time they get back, it'll already be far too late for you. This is an extremely fast acting poison that attacks the cardiac system; once injected it will stop your heart within two minutes. Officially, it will look like you merely suffered heart failure due to complications with your bullet wound- which is more than what you deserve after what you did to our friends at the warehouse." She smiled a sick smile at Ziva. "But I suppose one has to take what one can get, isn't that right?"

"If you honestly believe you will be able to just kill me without leaving any trace behind," Ziva said bitingly, "then you do not know NCIS at all. They will find you and hunt you down."

The woman raised her eyebrows. "Well then, I guess we'll just have work quickly." She slowly turned towards Ziva's IV line, studied it for a moment and then brought the syringe closer…

A rapid knock on the door brought all three people's attention rapidly towards it. Ziva's eyes widened; she tried to give a shout to whoever it was as to what was going on, but the woman quickly clamped a hand over her mouth. Holding the struggling Ziva, she looked back towards her fellow assailant. "Don't just stand there!" She whispered furiously. "Get rid of them!"

Still keeping a tight hold on Ziva's mouth, she turned towards the IV line and brought the needle back close to it. The Israeli followed her movements and watched in terror as she observed the woman insert the syringe into her IV and inject the entire contents of it into the bag. Ziva's eyes filled with fear and horror as she watched the poison enter the IV line and began the slow but inevitable descent towards her veins…

**A/N: So how is it so far? Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Wow- throw Tony and Ziva together in an angst/romantic story and everyone comes running. Thanks for all the support! I strongly recommend that everyone read my stories 'Hellstorm' (complete) and 'Into Hell' (in progress). They're both part of a trilogy I'm writing and are VERY good. I hope everyone takes the time to read them!**

Ziva frantically moved her head back and forth, trying desperately to wrench the woman's hand from her mouth and alert whoever was at the door that she needed help. With no way to use her hands and feet, her numerous Mossad skills were rendered utterly useless. Though she traditionally dismissed calling for help as a sign of weakness, right now all she wanted was to call out as loudly as she could.

Unfortunately, the woman's grip was made of iron and no matter how hard she tried she couldn't break it. "Shhhhh," The woman said as she gazed at the IV line. "Patience, darling. Your life will not end as easily as those of our comrades you killed earlier; I'm going to take great pleasure in watching you writhe in fear while you wait to die."

Ziva cast another look at the IV line; her eyes narrowed in fright and a small muffled cry of fear, virtually unheard of coming from her, escaped her throat as she watched the poison's progress. The orange liquid had already reached the third way point and was continuing past as it snaked its way down towards her veins. It seemed to be deliberately taking its time, and she could feel her heart begin to race in terror in realization of what was happening.

There came another knock at the door. The woman shot a look back towards her partner. "Well, what are you waiting for?" She snapped. "Get rid of them!"

The man quickly reached into his own pocket and pulled out a small pistol of his own. From another pocket he produced a silencer and quickly screwed it onto the pistol. Tucking the weapon just out of sight behind his back, he opened the door just a fraction, just enough so he could poke his head out of but not enough so that Ziva could see who he was talking to.

"Can I help you, sir?" He asked in a perfectly normal tone, as though he was merely a regular doctor and wasn't holding a gun behind his back while his partner was in the process of killing a woman behind him.

"Yeah, I'm sorry but I think I left my cell phone behind in this room. I'm a colleague of Agent David; my name is Special Agent Tony DiNozzo of NCIS."

Ziva's eyes snapped open wide- Tony! The female assassin had made a mistake when she told her that all her colleagues had left; only Tony would forget his cell phone and comeback at a time like this. And she couldn't have asked for a better time for his forgetfulness.

Ziva frantically tried harder than ever to free herself from the woman's grasp; it was absolutely imperative that Tony knew what was going on. If the assassins managed to get him to leave, she'd be completely alone and helpless; she would die strapped to a hospital bed that she should never have been in the first place.

The woman tightened her grip and shot her a death look. "Behave yourself." She whispered menacingly. "Or your partner will have the privilege of dying before your very eyes."

_Partner_. Ziva felt a sob form itself inside her chest. To her, Tony was so much more than just her partner. He was… Tony. She didn't know anyone who could make her angry so easily yet make her laugh the very next moment. He was her best friend; who else could she sit beside in the evenings, watch movies with while he made constant quotes from them, and then to find herself resting her head against his shoulder? There was little doubt that she could ask for a better friend in her entire life…

_Friend_… he was more to her than that as well… If the ex-cop only knew how often she had to fight back her blushes around him…

"I'm very sorry Agent DiNozzo, but Agent David is currently resting; it is vital that she not be disturbed under any circumstances."

_Actually Tony, right now would be the one time I __do__ want you to barge in on me!_

"What's wrong?" Tony's voice had a quite noticeable pang of concern. "Is she alright?"

_No Tony- please do not fall for it!_

"She is currently in stable condition. However, whether she remains so will be determined by how well she recovers in the next few hours. That is why she cannot be disturbed. If we find your phone, we will be certain to contact you. Now will you be so kind as to allow your partner to rest?"

_Tony- HELP!_

There was a momentary silence. Ziva shot another look towards the IV line and saw with horror that the poison was nearly at the end of the line. Another few seconds and it would be in her bloodstream. She prayed Tony would be smart enough to know something was wrong- as long he didn't do anything to get himself killed in front of her. She couldn't bear the sight of that.

"Be sure to let me know when she wakes up; it's extremely important."

_Oh God Tony, no!_

"We'll be sure to do that, Agent DiNozzo. You'll be the first to know. Have a good day."

As the man closed the door, Ziva knew this would be her only chance; if she didn't do something now, she would be left alone to die. The poison was about five seconds away from reaching needle projecting into the vein in her hand- once that happened, it would be too late

With one last bit of renewed strength she gave a sudden head jerk to the left; caught off guard, she felt the woman's hand slide off her mouth, and let the one word on her mind scream out from her throat:

"_**TONY**__!_"

**NCIS**

Tony whipped around, his heart freezing in his chest. He knew that voice anywhere, but never before had he heard so desperate, so shrill- so _terrified_…

_Ziva! Oh God no!_

Without hesitation he drew his weapon and raced back towards the room. Instead of trying the door, he gave a vicious kick to its handle sending it flying open. The man who had answered previously was quickly bringing a silenced weapon up towards him; Tony raised his own weapon quickly and squeezed off two rounds, dropping the assailant on sight. Turning to the left, he saw a young blonde woman standing next to Ziva's bed and launched himself across the room, knocking her down.

Looking up, Tony froze in horror as he watched a bright orange liquid fill up the IV line taped to Ziva's hand. With no other idea as to what to do, he yanked the needle out of her skin, setting off an alarm that soon filled the room.

"Ziva!" Tony looked down at his partner in terror; the Israeli was convulsing violently on the gurney as much as the restraints would allow, and she gave no indication of having heard him. "Ziva!"

He whipped his head around and shouted out towards the hall, "We need some help in here! Somebody!"

Kneeling down, he grabbed hold of the blonde woman. "What did you do?" He practically yelled in her face. "Talk, goddamn it! What did you do to her?"

The woman stared up at him. "Oh, it's too late." She replied coolly. "My job here is done. The poison has already entered her blood stream; in a little over a minute, it will reach her heart. Her heart will stop. And she will die right in front of you."

She shook her head defiantly. "There's nothing you can do."

**A/N: How's this chapter? Please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: And so it begins… can Ziva be saved? Note: this story is not in the same universe as 'Hellstorm' and 'Into Hell'.**

Gibbs and McGee stood at the floor's receptionist desk; Gibbs was arguing with the attending woman about the level of security necessary for Ziva's room while McGee merely made sure he was well out the range of fire (in this case, Gibbs' anger instead of his gun).

"I'm sorry sir, but we can only spare a select number of security guards per floor and right now we're at our maximum."

"Not all of your patients here are federal agents!" _Especially those who may be the target of retaliation by God-knows-who._ "I doubt very much the people in the cancer ward have need of armed personnel standing outside their door. My agent on the other hand is in very little condition to be defending herself should someone decide to stroll in here and pay her an unauthorized visit! Get more security up here!"

"I'm sorry sir, but it's impossible for me to…"

The heated discussion was abruptly interrupted by a sudden localized alarm ringing in the area; a few seconds later a group of nurses and ER techs raced past the two men in the direction of the patients rooms.

"What's going on?" Gibbs gut gave a very uneasy turn- he already knew the answer before one of the techs shouted at a running nurse. "Code red emergency in Room 416! No readings on heart rate! Interruption in IV feed!"

"Boss!" McGee's eyes widened. "Room 416 is Ziva's room! Tony went back there a minute ago to get his cell phone- he hasn't come back yet!"

However, he found he was talking to an empty space; Gibbs was already in hot pursuit of the nurses and ER techs. He scrambled to catch up with them.

Inside Gibbs' head raced a thousand different obscenities and furious self-reproaches. _This is all my damn fault_, he berated himself angrily in his mind. _Should never have left her alone. Because I did, who knows what the hell's going on? Ziva, DiNozzo- you two better be alive._

The group arrived at Ziva's room in less than twenty seconds. Gibbs and McGee immediately drew their weapons and signalled for the ER personnel to keep back. The agents burst in; Gibbs immediately saw the dead body of a brown haired man dressed as a doctor, a silenced pistol near his hand and two bullet wounds in his chest. Near the bed at the back was Tony, violently shaking and yelling at a young blonde woman dressed as a nurse. Gibbs' ears picked up the high-pitched uninterrupted frequency of the heart rate monitor; the straight line on it uninterrupted by the slightest sign of a pulse. Gibbs felt his blood freeze in his veins and he saw the open-eyed but unresponsive body of Ziva on the bed.

"Clear!" McGee shouted as he swept the room.

"DiNozzo!" Gibbs holstered his weapon and ran over to the senior field agent. Tony had a death grip on the blonde woman and didn't seem to hear him, so the ex-sniper was forced to slap the back of his head to get his attention. "Tony! What happened?"

Tony tore his terrified eyes up towards Gibbs, and when he spoke he seemed to ramble almost incoherently. "The IV, boss! She injected some kind of poison into her IV! She says it's already in her bloodstream and it'll kill her in less than a minute! Boss, we gotta do something! We gotta…"

Gibbs slapped the back of Tony's head again; the ex-cop fell silent but cast a terrified look at his partner. The ER technicians were already swarming around the bed. "Give her a shot of epinephrine!" The lead tech shouted to one of the nurses. "Her heart's not responding!"

"McGee!" Gibbs turned around to give an order to the junior agent, but found that the MIT graduate already had anticipated it. McGee quickly pulled out his handcuffs and restrained the blonde woman before hauling her out of the room. Gibbs made a mental note to thank him for his astuteness- then he remembered his own lack of judgement when he had left Ziva all alone and immediately turned his attention back to the bed.

The lead tech was being handed a syringe of what Gibbs assumed to be adrenaline and quickly inserted it into Ziva's arm, emptying the entire contents into her vein.

Gibbs stood staring at the motionless body of his newest NCIS agent. _Goddamn it Ziva, don't you give up! I didn't give you permission to die, you hear me? Don't you even __think__ about giving up, understand?_

"It's not working!" One of the nurses was shouting, even though her voice seemed somewhere far off in the distance.

Then he heard the lead tech's voice: "She's gone into complete cardiac arrest! The defibrillation pads, now!"

Tony watched backed up against the wall, terrified as he watched the nurses clear a spot on Ziva's chest in preparation for defibrillation. Never in his life had he seen Ziva so vulnerable- not even in Somalia when she had been tortured. Not in the same room where he had admitted he couldn't live without her. Not when he realized…

_Damn it Ziva, don't you die on me! I almost lost you once before- I can't bear for you to do it again. Not when I know what my feelings are. Don't you dare die on me- I won't ever get the chance to tell you how I feel about you. _

"Charge! Clear!"

The defibrillator emitted a shock to Ziva's chest; Ziva bounced up off the bed once and landed back motionless. The incessant single screech of the heart monitor made it clear her heart still wasn't responding.

"Charge again! Clear!"

Another jolt sent Ziva bouncing up and back down on the bed. Tony looked at her ashen face, her eyes still open but gazing into oblivion.

He turned back towards Gibbs, who was barking at the lead tech. "Try again! Try it again! Crank up the voltage on that thing!"

"This is high as the safe range permits for someone in her condition." The tech explained. "If we go any higher, it could permanently damage her heart beyond repair. If this level doesn't work…"

"Just do it!"

The lead tech seemed to pause for a moment then turned back towards Ziva. He placed the paddles on her chest.

"Charge! Clear!"

Ziva's body once again shuddered, her torso lifting all the way up off the bed before coming back down. Tony stared desperately into her face searching for something- _anything_- that would indicate she was responsive to that.

_Come on Ziva- DO something! Blink, swallow- threaten to kill me eighteen different ways with a paperclip! Anything! Ziva, don't do this to me- PLEASE!_

The lead tech sighed and took off his glasses. He gave a nod to the nurse, who bit her lip and slipped quietly out of the room.

"Wait- NO!" Tony's heart froze in his chest; a feeling of pure, unadulterated fear, worse than any he had ever known before, was suddenly consuming him like a tidal wave. He looked frantically towards the tech. "Come on- just one more try! She's probably just hovering on the edges of oblivion waiting for us to shock her one more time to wake her up!"

"Agent DiNozzo…"

"She's gonna be mighty pissed off if you just leave her on the edge without bringing her back. And you don't want to piss her off! She's a Mossad assassin! Well, ex-Mossad assassin, but you know what I mean!"

"Agent DiNozzo…"

"She can kill you eighteen different ways with a paperclip! And she can do things with her own fingers you wouldn't think possible! I mean, not that I'd know, but do you really wanna take that…"

"Tony."

Gibbs' single word silenced the senior agent. Tony looked back and forth between Gibbs, Ziva and the lead tech and then back to Ziva. His eyes begged and pleaded with her to not do what they were believed she was doing. He pleaded with her silently to look at him, to sit up, to tell him that it was not as it seemed.

The nurse returned to the room and solemnly handed a clipboard to the lead tech; letting out a grim sounding sigh, he checked his watch and began to write, speaking out loud while he did so.

"Time of death…"

**A/N: Hmm. I'm not sure there's enough interest in this story… a few well thought out, in-depth reviews may change my mind. Please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

Tony felt the tears sting at his eyes; they blurred his vision, and as he blinked reflexively he could feel them run down his cheeks. He didn't care who the hell saw him cry right now; not the nurses, not the doctors, not even Gibbs. It didn't matter anymore; nothing mattered anymore. After all the countless times he himself had cheated death and gotten away worse for the wear, he'd take them all back at that very instant if it were possible.

_Why her? Why couldn't it have been me? It __should__ have been me, goddamn it!_

In that moment, he wished he could go back and change everything. He wished he had been quicker at entering the warehouse to cover her back- _always have your partner's six, you stupid, arrogant bastard_; he wished he could have switched places with Ziva at the very moment it happened so that he would have been the one to get the bullet in the shoulder, not her. He wished with every ounce and fibre in his being that he was the one lying in the hospital bed right now, not her. Why after all of the damn times that he had intentionally hung around Ziva just to annoy her had he chosen to walk out of the room at _that_ moment?

_Son of a bitch. Goddamn idiot. Fucking brainless…_

Running out of names to call himself, he forced himself to look at her. To look at her face- that beautiful face he had so long admired for its beauty and strength. Her tanned skin was now a pale ashen; her beautiful brown eyes staring into space, devoid of any of the warmth or playfulness that had filled them when she teased him right back; her soft, pink lips, which he had long known for certain to be the softest, most tender ones he'd ever seen in his life. Even though he'd never felt the warmth of her lips on his, he had no doubt that they were worth a hundred- no, a _thousand_- of those of every other woman he'd ever kissed.

Now he would never get the chance to find out.

Gently, he took her hand in his- still embracing the warmth she seemed to exude. He laid his head slowly next onto her shoulder, quietly sobbing as his tears trickled down onto her top. So many times he had felt her own shoulder resting comfortably against his- except this time there was no support he could lend her. No arm to wrap around her shoulder and draw her closer to himself. No shoulder he could offer her to remind her that she was just as human as the rest of them. Despite what her father and Mossad had tried to turn her into- their own personal tool and cold blooded assassin- she was just as much a feeling, caring human as they all were.

Tony knew for certain that Ziva was by no means as heartless as her father wanted her to believe. He knew first hand that she had a heart- a very big one. She had shown it in Tel Aviv when she had him at gunpoint on the ground and could very easily have ended his life right there. She had shown it again when they got back to NCIS and she had told him that she knew he always had her six. And he had heard it; he had heard it often enough when she lay against him on so many evenings. The soft, gentle beats that contrasted so often of the racing her heart normally did in the line of duty.

And the soft beats that so often sent his own heart racing when she subconsciously curled up next to him…

How he wanted to hear them again. How he longed to be able to put his head close to her chest and hear her heart beat through her shirt. The heart that had held out against torture in Somalia. The heart that had allowed her to survive all the dangers she had seen in her life.

The heart he had come to care for so much…

_You should have been here, you stupid son of a…_

He couldn't even finish his line of thought. It brought forth far too many painful branch-offs. He could blame himself till the end of time- it wouldn't change anything or help anyone.

_Except it would have helped Ziva_…

How the hell could he start thinking of those possibilities now? _Would've, could've, should've_… that was all bullshit. He _didn't. I chose to make a goddamn joke and then just walk out. And then when she was in trouble, I chose to accept the word of a man who said she was fine just because he was wearing a white doctor's coat. Stupid idiot! I __knew__ something was wrong and I didn't do a damn thing! _

Then again, it was a perfectly logical thing to act as he did. Anyone else probably would have done the exact same thing. It wouldn't really have made a difference how he acted.

_Except Ziva would still be alive…_

And now, because of his fucking stupidity and short-sightedness, Ziva was dead. His naivety was the reason his partner- his best friend- was dead. As those realizations passed through his head, his mind flashed back; the first time he'd seen her; the first time she smiled at him; the first time she'd threatened him with a paperclip. Every single memory he'd always remembered so fondly; the memories they'd shared together; the memories they may have shared in the future. Someday they might even…

_Oh, Ziva…_

Tony gripped her hand tighter as he lifted his head towards her ear. His next words were spoken at a tone so low that he himself could barely hear them.

"Ziva… I'm so sorry… I- I should have been here. It's my fault… my fault that this happened. I should never… have left you alone. It's my fault… all my fault. I… I- I…"

He looked down, unable to look at her as the next words passed from his lips.

"_I killed you… I killed the woman I love…_"

He forced himself to look back up at her. "Yeah… it's true. What I said back in Somalia- about me being unable to live without you- it was entirely true. I thought… I thought it wasn't anything at first… I thought it was just a case of me being me and you being a woman but…" he shook his head in sorrow, "that's just not the case… I knew from the first moment I saw you that you were unlike any other woman I knew. I didn't know why at the time- but now I do… you are without question the strongest, most amazing woman I've ever know- will ever know. I'm just sorry I never got to tell you… how I really feel about you…"

He blinked away a fresh batch of tears and quietly cleared his throat. Slowly, he leaned in closer until his lips right next to her ear, and whispered, in a voice inaudible to anyone else:

"_I love you, Ziva_."

The tears cut through his eyes and streamed down his cheeks. Slowly, he laid his down onto her shoulder and started sobbing uncontrollably. He no longer cared who the hell saw him- he no longer cared if he was even alive or dead. In his mind, he was already dead; as dead as the woman he loved- and had killed.

He was so engulfed in his grief- so filled with angst and self-loathing- that he didn't feel the slight tightening on his hand. And the pounding in his head from his crying was so loud that he almost missed the low, virtually muted voice that came from just to his right:

"_I love you too, Tony…_"

**A/N: Hmmm… is this good enough for a review? Compliment! Criticize! I don't care! Just do it!**


	5. Chapter 5

Ziva stared down at his prostrate figure. His new Armani suit, just bought last week as he had so often boasted, was now stained a bright red that was rapidly spreading across the front. A pool of blood was now slowly spreading from underneath him on the ground below. A thin red trickle of blood was leaking out of the corner of his mouth, his green eyes staring off into space. Her heart froze and her blood ran cold at the mere sight of this.

Gibbs, McGee and the remaining gunmen were nowhere in sight- no where to be found. It was as if they had just disappeared into thin air, leaving her alone- with him…

Ziva stared down in terror as her partner, once so full of life and on top of the world, was now lying bleeding out on the ground- wounded… helpless…

"Tony…" She said frantically. "Tony, stay with me!"

She peeled back his blood-soaked jacket and couldn't help but let out a gasp as she saw blood continue to flow from his bullet wound. Quickly, without the slightest thought towards her own safety, she stripped off her own jacket and pressed it against his chest in an effort to stop the bleeding.

She couldn't let this happen… she **wouldn't**. Not to her partner. Not to her best friend.

Not to the man she…

"Ziva…"

She snapped her attention down towards his face. His eyes slowly slid open, revealing those two green orbs she so often had found herself gazing into. So full of warmth- so full of comfort. She had felt that in Somalia- she felt it again now.

"Tony!" She grabbed hold of his hand and held it close, resisting the urge to gasp at how cold and clammy his skin was or how his breathing seemed to be coming out in uneven short gasps. Nothing had ever made her want to be closer to him- right now, all she wanted to do was hold him close and never let him go. She would die first.

Tony looked at her through his semi-closed eyes and gave a smaller, but classic Tony-esque smile. "Quite the lengths I have to go to in order to get you out of your clothes, isn't it Agent David?"

She choked back a laugh that sounded a lot more like a sob. "Tony, just hold on! You are going to be alright. Help will be here shortly. Just remain calm and try to relax."

He merely shook his head slightly. "I won't be able to relax until your sexy ass is safe back at NCIS."

She couldn't help but give a small smile of her own. "I am not leaving here without your little hairy butt either."

Tony merely shook his head again. "You don't have a choice, Zee. Someone's gotta tell Gibbs and McGee what happened. Someone's gotta make it out of here breathing instead of in a body bag."

"Do not say that!" Ziva practically shouted. "Do not **dare** say that! You cannot give up, Tony! You just cannot! I refuse to allow it! I will not **let** you allow it!"

Tony smiled. "Now you're starting to sound like Gibbs."

"Damn it Tony, why did you leap in front of me? Why did you do this to yourself? Why…?"

"I couldn't let it happen… to you." He gave a slight choking cough. "Couldn't let you take another hit. This… this isn't the way I pictured this happening. Never thought I'd place bleeding out on a concrete floor in my top 10 ways to die. But… maybe this isn't so bad after all. Better me than you."

Ziva paled and her body heaved with more emotion than she ever thought it possible to achieve; she had to force herself to hold onto him tighter to prevent herself from dropping him back down on the floor in shock at his words.

"Tony, please. I… I must tell you something. Something I should have told you a long time ago…"

"Shhhh." He tightened his grasp on her fingers. "It's okay."

"Tony, please let me say it." She was quickly running out of time. "I have to tell you before…

"You never had to say it, sweet cheeks."He gave her a weak, but reassuring smile. "You never have had to say anything…"

"Damn it Tony, shut up and let me tell you! I **need** you to hear me say it. I need you to hear what I have wanted- needed- to say for a long time. I will no longer let the bat catch me by the tongue!"

He gave an amused chuckle. "That's my crazy ninja."

"Damn you, Tony! Damn it all to hell! I care about you! I care about you like I could never care for anyone else. And I would probably be killed for having such strong feelings for anyone back in Mossad, but I do not care! It is true! And I would not have it any other way!"

Without hesitation, she slid her left arm under his head and gently lifted him towards her. Leaning down, she pressed her lips to his and kissed him- desperately, as though she knew she would not have another chance. What a cruel sense of irony; their first kiss was also to be their last…

She could taste the combination of blood and sweat on his lips, but she couldn't care less; it was all his and she embraced and cherished it wholeheartedly.

"Wow." Tony said slowly as she carefully pulled away. "Who'd know that the best kisses you receive are the ones when you are just about to…"

"Do not say it! Tony, you are **not** going to die! You will not! You are going to be alright- just hang on! You cannot just leave me alone like this! I… I will kill you myself before I let you leave like this!"

"Ziva…" he said in a quiet voice that she presumed was meant to be comforting. "It's alright. It's going to be alright. There is no better way I could imagine… than being here with you. My deadly little assassin… the strongest, most beautiful woman I've ever known. That's the kind of attitude NCIS needs. That's the kind of attitude the world needs. You take care of the rest of them, alright? Gibbs and McGee and Abby and Ducky- hell, even Palmer. They're all good people; just make sure you have their sixes. Especially McGee; he's going to be a great field agent."

"He learned from the best." Ziva said in voice that shook from trying desperately to hold back her tears. "And he will continue to learn from the best. You will be there to make sure of it."

Tony smiled and lifted a hand to stroke her cheek. "No, Zee; **you'll** be there to make sure of it."

Ziva felt her body shake as she stared down at him. How could she let this happen? In Mossad, she was always trained that showing emotions and getting close to people made you a liability but she wasn't with Mossad anymore. She was with NCIS. She was now an American. And she had fallen for a man who had so many times driven her crazy but at the same time shown her that just because one is alive doesn't mean that they are **living**. Tony meant the world to her; without him, she wasn't sure if she could go on. In that moment, she wished **she** were the one lying bleeding out on the floor instead of him; at least it would mean he would be safe…

Tony gave another bad-sounding cough as he shook in her arms. As she looked down on him, a look of both fear and worry on her face, he tried to give her another smile but came up short. She stared at him and after a moment, he said, shaken and quietly, "It hurts, Ziva…"

Her heart broke into a thousand pieces. She could feel tears sting in her eyes, and no matter how much she blinked she couldn't make them go away. "Tony…"

"Ziva," he tightened his hand on hers, "it's alright. You're safe- that's all that matters. Anything was worth your life to me- even if it means I lose my own. After all the times you've saved my ass, I figured the least I could do was save your sexy one. At least it's made a difference. At least you're still alive."

"But I will not be truly alive." Ziva bit her lip to keep it from trembling. "I cannot live without you, Tony. I cannot lose you again."

"You'll never lose me, Zee. As long as you never forget about me, you'll never lose me." He gave another attempt at a grin. "Besides, how will you ever be able to forget me after all the movie quotes I've told you? You'll never be able to watch another movie without wondering if I've quoted from it."

She gave a small grin through her tears. He was right; how could she ever forget Tony's litany of movie quotes?

Tony gave another coughing/choking sound and Ziva felt her heart drop; this was it, she knew.

And yet he kept a firm but comfortable grip on her hand. Staring directly into her eyes, he murmured in a voice barely above a whisper:

_"I love you, Ziva…"_

Tears began leaking out of the Ziva's eyes. Without hesitation, she tightened her own hand around his and whispered back in the same tone:

_"I love you too, Tony…"_

A small smile appeared on his face, just for a second. Then, slowly, she felt his grip on her hand loosen. His head dropped slowly back to the ground, his eyes slowly closing in the act. His chest gave one last rise and fall- and then stopped moving.

The tears poured down in streams on Ziva's cheeks. Keeping an iron grip on his hand, her eyes became blurred as the realization hit; Tony DiNozzo- her partner, her friend, her **soul mate**- was dead. All the pain and suffering she had suffered in her entire life, including Somalia, did not hurt half as much as the way she felt now. It was as if the entire weight of the world had just come crashing down on her- especially on her heart.

Collapsing down onto his blood-soaked chest, she continued to cry uncontrollably. In between sobs, she managed to say one last thing to her lost love:

_"I always loved you…"_

**A/N: Well? Good enough for an in-depth review? Tell me how it is! Positive, negative- I don't care! Just hit the review button!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Just to clarify- the last chapter **_**was**_** the correct one for this story but I felt that it could stand on its own as a one shot and that's what I did (it's called 'One Last Chance'). The chapter was supposed to be a dream in Ziva's mind where she can sense Tony admitting he loves her and she has a way to respond and let him know she heard him.**

**By the way, thanks for all the reviews! I only wish I had as many for my other NCIS story 'Into Hell'. Please read it as well as its prequel 'Hellstorm'- they both have listed Tony/Ziva pairings.**

Tony's head shot up like a spring, his heart racing about a thousand miles an hour. His eyes widened as he looked at Ziva's face, praying- praying in the deepest parts of his soul- that he was not merely being overly hopeful- that his grief was not so great that he was actually imagining things.

"Ziva?" His voice was moderate in tone but rich with emotion. Could it be… was it possible...

The heartbeat monitor emitted a massive screech that echoed throughout the room. Nurses and ER techs came racing through the doorway to see what was going on.

Tony felt the hand on his tighten even more. "Ziva…"

Ziva's eyes snapped open; she let out a massive gasp for air and shot up in the bed, her brown eyes wide, and Tony was almost stunned to them filled with tears. "No Tony, no! You cannot leave me! Come back!"

"Ziva!" Tony grabbed hold of her shoulders, forcing her to look at him; one set of tear-filled eyes looking into another set of tear-filled eyes. "Ziva, it's okay! You're alive- you came back! Thank God, I thought…" He couldn't even bare to finish the sentence.

Ziva for her part looked even more relieved than he did. She said at virtually the same time: "Tony! Oh my God, I thought you were dead!"

Tony blinked in surprise. "_You_ thought _I_ was dead? Ziva, I thought you were dead! You practically were for a minute! I thought… I didn't know…" Again he found himself unable to finish. The two just continued to stare at each other- tearfully, both relieved and fearful of what they had each thought.

It was Gibbs who broke the silence in a strong, but gentle voice. "Since it's apparent that neither of you are dead, perhaps it would be best to make sure that it doesn't happen again in the near future. DiNozzo?"

Tony cast a look at Gibbs that clearly displayed his unwillingness to leave Ziva's side. "But boss, she may have been dead just a moment ago and…"

"Tony."

That single word was followed by Gibbs' stare and Tony felt his defences come crumbling down. Slowly, and reluctantly, he left go of Ziva, although their eyes didn't leave each other until the nurses and doctors were practically shoving him and Gibbs out of the room into the hallway.

"DiNozzo." Gibbs motioned with his hand and the two men walked down the hall towards the elevator. The team leader said nothing while they waited for the elevator to arrive and he said nothing when the doors opened and the men stepped inside.

Tony waited with anticipation as they began to move down towards the ground floor; sure enough, Gibbs flicked the emergency switch after only one floor, bringing the elevator to a halt.

Tony could feel his heartbeat increase once again as Gibbs turned around and stared at him. He cleared his throat nervously. "Boss?"

"DiNozzo." The ex-marine regarded him with that stare he had so often used whenever he felt the need to get through to his agents, which more often than not meant using it on Tony.

Tony took a deep breath. "I'm guessing this isn't your idea of waiting around until the doctors say Ziva is perfectly fine and can be checked out of the hospital at anytime."

Gibbs slapped the back of Tony's head- not overly hard but definitely as a sign that he was not in the mood for obvious statements. "No boss, of course not. Stupid remark."

"Which one are you referring to, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked in a slightly sarcastic way. "The one you used just now?" There was no need to ask what he meant by any 'alternative' remarks.

"I know that what I said back in the room was unexpected." Tony said slowly and cautiously.

"Gee, you think DiNozzo?" Gibbs stared at him. "It's one thing to be concerned for your partner and be notably upset when it looks like they've been injured or even killed. It's another thing to break down and confess all the true emotions you have for them and tell them you love them. Not to mention the fact that they happen to come back to life right after you've declared your undying feelings for them and they tell you the exact same thing."

Tony looked at him in surprise. "You… you heard that, boss?"

"Am I deaf, DiNozzo? Of course I heard it. And what's more, I _saw_ it; she had the same panicked look that you had when she first woke up and the same look of relief on her face when she realized you were still alive. If I didn't know better, I would have said you two had done this before."

Tony took another breath. "I know that technically anything we said would have gone against Rule 12."

"No kidding. And just what were you expecting me to do when you said that? Give you a pat on the back and say that it would have been perfectly alright for you two to have played grab-ass since you were grieving over her supposedly dead body? DiNozzo, my rules are there for a reason! Rule 12 especially- office romances never work; trust me as someone who's had experience. Why would you willingly put that out for me to hear when you know how I feel about that sort of thing?"

Tony stood up straight and looked at his boss firmly. "Because I wasn't thinking about that, boss. I wasn't thinking about whether you approved of it or not. I wasn't thinking about the countless head slaps you may have given me for it. And I wasn't thinking about what that might have meant for your trust in my judgement in the future. I was thinking about what I was feeling right at that very moment. And there's not much need for me to go into detail about what that consisted of because you already know, but I'm going to say it anyway because I need you to hear me say it out loud."

Without breaking eye contact with Gibbs, Tony said firmly, "I love her, boss. I love her more than I ever thought I could ever love anyone. I'm not entirely sure why; she can press my buttons more than anyone else can and we fight more often than an old married couple." Gibbs raised an eyebrow, but Tony didn't seem to notice. "Maybe that's what draws me to her. Maybe I've finally found the one person who can challenge me like that and I can't stand to think what I would be missing if she were no longer around. I don't the exact reason, but what I do know is this: Ziva is without a shadow of a doubt the strongest and most beautiful woman I've ever met and I can't spend one moment thinking that she would not be somehow in my life. I know that much."

He took a deep breath and went on. "I never had any intention of breaking your rules; at least not to the point where it would jeopardize things at work. And I stand to that to this moment. I know you've never been one to follow things exactly to the letter- it's part of what makes you such an effective leader- but if there's one thing that I know you can't tolerate, under any circumstances, it's lying. So I won't lie now. You can head slap me; you can stick me behind a desk and not let me go out into the field out of fear that I'll make a bad decision; hell, you could even transfer me if you no longer want me working under you. But I will not change what I feel, and nothing that anyone- even you- can do will make me forget that."

Standing tall, he met Gibbs' stare head on. "I love Ziva, boss. I love her to death. That's not going to change. If she doesn't return my feelings or if you don't agree with them, that's fine. I'll live with that. But one thing will not change regardless of what else happens: _I love Ziva David, now and forever…_"

Tony stopped speaking. He realized he had moved right up into Gibbs' face, so moved back a little bit- not so much that the team leader would take it as a sign he was backing down but enough that it would not seem like he was challenging Gibbs, at least not in a physical way. He wanted Gibbs to understand that his position was not going to change.

He waited, but the team leader merely continued to stare at him. For a moment, Tony wondered if he had gone too far, and if Gibbs was seriously considering firing him. Even though he had said he could live with that, it had sounded a lot better at the moment he said it than when he was thinking about it now. _Maybe I just royally screwed myself_.

Gibbs continued to stare at him for another moment. Then he slowly turned around and hit the elevator switch again. As the lights came back on and restarted its descent, Gibbs reached over and gave Tony another slap on the head- only this time, it was much lighter.

"Boss?" Tony looked over at him in confusion. "What was that for?"

Gibbs turned his head and looked Tony in the eyes. "For ever thinking she doesn't return your feelings."

**A/N: Love it? Hate it? Please review? What do you think? Is Gibbs' and Tony's behaviour what you would expect in the show?**


	7. Chapter 7

Tony stood outside Ziva's hospital door, fidgeting slightly out of nervousness. He cleared his throat for perhaps the sixth time in the last five minutes and his hands wrung nervously, intertwined with each other. He was a little surprised that his shirt collar had not started leaking considering the way he was sweating under it.

To put it in layman's terms, he was _terrified_.

How the hell could he not be? It had been two days since Ziva had been nearly killed- _twice_. One of those times, she practically _had_ been killed- she had been clinically dead for a few minutes. That itself had been more than enough to scare him. To scare him more than he ever imagined he could be.

And yet now, with Ziva medically cleared to leave the hospital and return to active field duty in the next week, he found himself with an even bigger feeling of worry in his stomach than he had before. No longer the sense of fear that ripped him up when he thought he had lost her- not in _that_ sense anyway- but rather one of uncertainty. The feeling of uncertainty of how things would be between them.

After everything that they had been through together, through all the ups and all the downs- and there had been a _hell_ of a lot of both of them- he was truly scared that he had ruined things between them for good. After all, he had admitted the one thing he never thought he would tell her in person- the one thing that he thought would never be more than a mere fantasy in the back of his mind.

He had admitted he loved her.

_I love you, Ziva._

How the hell had that come about? The mere fact that he thought Ziva had been dead? The guilt he felt when he believed he had been responsible for her 'death'? He honestly didn't know. And he had no idea on what to do now that it was in the open.

Another inescapable reminder also hung in his mind; the fact that he had heard her whisper those same words.

_I love you too, Tony_.

Where had they come from? Did they have any true meaning? Or were they the figment of the mind of a woman who was dreaming that it was _he_ who was dying and she was saying anything in order to not let go of the life she knew? Was it an act? A mere desperate ploy by the feverish mind of a clinically dead woman?

He didn't know- but he was going to find out.

Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door and at once heard her voice speak up. "Come in."

He slowly opened the door and took in the sight before him; Ziva was sitting on the side of the bed, dressed in her usual work clothes, staring at the wall opposite her though not really taking it in. She turned her head when the door opened and Tony could see that although the ashen colour of death that had coloured her face was now long gone, there was still an element of paleness in it. Recovering from an ordeal like this wouldn't be easy on anyone- even Ziva.

"Tony." In that moment, Tony saw it in her dark brown eyes- it just a flash but it was there; that fire and brightness of the old Ziva. He couldn't help but give a little smile.

"Hey Zee." He closed the door behind him. "How you doing?"

Ziva held her head high. "I am fine, thank you. A little sore and bruised but I am fine. I will be able to return to fulltime work by the end of the week."

Tony smiled again. "I hope we'll be able to survive as an agency without our deadly little ninja chick."

There was a hint of a smile on Ziva's face as well but it was very brief. If Tony had blinked he would've missed it. It was gone again and replaced by a neutral look as Ziva went back to staring at the wall.

Tony made a cautious move forward. "You mind if I sit down beside you? These hospital chairs are almost as bad their meals!"

His attempt at lightening the mood seemed to fall short; Ziva merely gave a brief nod and continued to stare and the wall.

Tony sat down beside her and took a good look at her. Even though she had recovered perfectly from her bullet wound and the poison which had been injected into her bloodstream (which Abby had had a field day trying to identify) had long been filtered out of her system, there was still an underlying sense of sickness in her face- not of the physical type, but more of the mental type, as though whatever it was praying on her mind and it would be wise not to try to push her too hard.

He was somewhat surprised when she took the initiative to begin the discussion herself. "I never got the chance to thank you… for saving my life."

Tony stared at her. "It wasn't me, Zee. It was the doctors. If anyone saved you, it would be…"

"No." She cut in gently. "McGee already told me everything that happened; how everyone had given up on me and took me for dead. Everyone but you. It was your persistence and your refusal to give up that ensured that I came back. If it was not for you, I really would be dead."

"But you don't understand!" Tony gestured with his hands in frustration. "It's my fault you were here in the first place! If I'd have been quicker back in that warehouse, you never would've gotten shot. And if you hadn't have gotten shot, you wouldn't have been here in the hospital. And if you weren't here, those assassins would never have had the chance to… to…"

"Kill me?"

"Don't you see, Ziva?" Tony said wildly. "If it weren't for me, you'd never have been in this situation! I almost got you killed- not once but twice! What kind of a partner is that?"

"The human kind." Ziva replied firmly. "And also the loyal kind when it became necessary. Yes, you made some mistakes that could have cost me my life but you corrected them. You did not just dwell on the subject; you made sure to fix them and for that, I owe you my life."

Tony looked away and stared at the wall for a moment, and then gave a brief chuckle.

"What is so funny?"

He stared at her, still smiling. "Role reversal. Usually it's me that's telling you that you need to feel more human and not just as a machine. And I have to say that I think I'm rubbing off on you in that area. I mean, after all, sometimes you just need to _shout_ your emotions to the world!"

There was a brief silence. "Tony…"

The ex-cop immediately tensed up. "I'm sorry Zee, I shouldn't have said that. That was stupid of me. I wasn't thinking." There was an awkward silence. "Maybe I should just wait downstairs." He made to get off the bed and head for the door.

"No Tony, wait." She gently held onto his arm. "It was my fault; I should not have said what I did when I came to back then."

Tony merely shook his head. "Come on Zee, it's not like you had any control over it."

"But I should have; I had no right to put you in an awkward spot such as that. I should have controlled myself better than that and not said… what I said."

"It's not your fault." Tony said firmly. "If there's anyone to blame, it's me. I'm the one who started it off by saying what I did and I shouldn't have tried to…"

He trailed off and looked at her. "No. You know what? No! I'm _not _sorry I said what I said! I meant it- each and every word of it and there's not a snowball's chance in hell that I would take it back and do anything differently!"

"Tony…"

"No Ziva, I'm tired of doing this! I'm tired of pretending! I'm tired of telling myself that it doesn't matter because it _does_ matter! I've been telling myself the same thing for the last five years and frankly I can't stand it anymore! Every time I think about you, it's in the back of my mind and burns like hell. Well, you know what? I'm not going to let it burn me anymore! I'm not going to keep my feelings bottled up like this anymore! So yes, Ziva- I meant every single word I said and I'm not sorry about it. So here it is- I love you, Ziva. I've loved you from the first day I saw you and I've loved you even more since then!"

"_Why_, Tony?" Ziva spun to face him directly in the eye. "_Why_ would you love me? Look at who I am! I am not the type of woman you bring home to meet your parents or invite for a holiday dinner with the in-laws! My father did his best to turn me into his own mindless killing machine in his own image. I retained at least some part of my own mind and will but the basic structure is still there. I was brought into this world for the soul purpose of killing, not loving. My body was designed for the purpose of taking life, not giving it or cherishing it. I have always been taught that showing emotions is the worst kind of weakness you can have, and that falling in love pretty much guarantees your death back in Mossad."

"But you're not in Mossad anymore, Ziva! You're a fulltime NCIS agent. You're an American now."

"That does not change what my father instilled in me!"

"Your father doesn't control your life, Ziva! _You_ do! Yeah, even I gotta give the guy some credit for giving you your skills, but _you_ are the one who decides how to use them. And you can be proud of what you've done with them."

"_Proud_?" Ziva stared incredulously at Tony. "The skills I learned in Mossad were for the sole purpose of extracting information- very painfully in many cases- and killing people, Tony! What is there to be proud of in that? Fine- you want me to be honest with you? I will be. I love you too, Tony. I have no idea why I do, seeing as how you can annoy me some days to the point where I have to stop myself from instinctively killing you, but I do. And I have not the faintest idea how to make that work."

"You adapt to it." Tony said softly. "One step at a time."

"But there are so many things that could go wrong. Look at the line of work we are in, Tony! Both of us could be killed on any given day! I could not live with the fact that the one man I truly could love would be gone from my life. I nearly died a couple of days ago! What would that have done to you as a human being? And what about Gibbs and his infamous Rule 12? I very much doubt he would allow us to even entertain the possibility if it were remotely possible that we could make it work!"

"I have a feeling the bossman wouldn't mind so much." Tony said with a small smile. "As long as it's kept out of the office, I doubt he'll raise too much hell."

Ziva narrowed her eyes. "How would you know that?" She gripped his arm tighter. "Did… did he hear what I… what we…"

"Oh, yeah- he heard all right."

Ziva uttered a low groan and rubbed her eyes.

"Ziva," Tony said in all seriousness. "Listen to me. I don't know what's going to happen from here on out. Yeah, you're right- we both could be killed at any time. But if there's ever a chance of that happening, no matter how remote, there would be no person I'd be more honoured to have known and be with than you."

Ziva stared at him and swallowed hard. Her dream was starting to come back to her- edging its way to the front of her mind.

Tony gently stroked her cheek, and she gently put her own hand over his. "I don't know if it'll work the way we want to Zee, but I can tell you one thing for certain; if there is any woman that's worth trying for in this world, it's you- and I'd do anything before I let that woman come to harm. I love her too damn much. And I'm tired of pretending I don't."

Ziva allowed a small smile. "I am tired of pretending that I do not care about a certain man as well, Tony."

His eyes locked with hers. "So let's stop pretending…"

He leaned in close; she closed her eyes and felt his lips on hers- warm, comforting, _real_. She embraced the kiss and quickly returned it, her hands moving up and gently stroking his face.

For the first time in her life, Ziva knew exactly who she was. She was Special Agent Ziva David of the Naval Criminal Investigative Services. She was a proud new citizen of the United States of America.

And she loved Anthony DiNozzo with every bit of her heart.

**A/N: Well, that's a wrap folks! Tell me what you think! Hit that review button!**


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